


light in the hallway.

by fandomsnthings



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: F/M, Kid Fic, hcb is ted and charlotte's son, i love them, stream of consciousness really, there may be more i just dont know yet, title based off of pentatonix song, v self indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24825157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsnthings/pseuds/fandomsnthings
Summary: Charlotte and Ted's son has a nightmare and goes to them for comfort.
Relationships: Charlotte/Sam (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals), Charlotte/Ted (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals), mentioned
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	light in the hallway.

**Author's Note:**

> This was solely inspired by a gifset by Tumblr user @/agent-megagirl that suggests that the Hot Chocolate Boy is Ted and Charlotte's son in an alternate universe. That really just HIT right in the feels so I immediately had to write this. It's probably very bad because I wrote most of it very quickly and also there's a lot of exposition AND dialogue. I was trying to set it up if I end up writing any more of this storyline, which is very possible. 
> 
> (Also i don't think anyone's done this exact thing before but if they have I'm sorry!)
> 
> TW// Slight mention of intimate partner violence (b/c sam is an asshole)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Charlotte was awoken suddenly to a small force pulling on the sleeve of her nightgown. Confused, she let out a large yawn as she tried to force her eyes open. Surely it wasn’t time to go to work already, was it?

Her eyelids rose slowly and blearily, trying to make out the image in front of her. It didn’t take long to recognize the tiny frame of her almost-four-year-old son, whose face had tear tracks running down it. One of his tiny fists were rubbing his eyes under his sloppily placed glasses as small whimpers escaped his mouth. That woke Charlotte up immediately. 

“Sweet boy, are you okay?” She said softly, reaching out a hand to take his that was still attached to her sleeve. She peeked over her shoulder at her husband, who was still snoozing, his head pressed against her shoulder. 

“Mama, I h-had a bad dream,” Oliver hiccuped, more tears falling from his eyes at the thought of the frightening scenario he had just woken up from. He had tried to comfort himself, he really did! But he had a lot of anxiety and it didn’t work and all he wanted was his Mama and Daddy. 

“Oh, that’s no good, is it?” Charlotte murmured, moving her hand to cup his cheek and brush some of his tears away. She used her other hand to poke at Ted, hoping that would make him wake up. By the groan that sounded after a few moments, she supposed that it had worked, and she quickly felt him sit up. 

“What the fu- oh, hey, Ollie. What’s wrong, bud?” Ted said, quickly censoring himself when he caught sight of his boy. 

Charlotte looked up at him from her still reclined position, and he couldn’t help but lean down and press a kiss to her temple. When he was within earshot, she whispered, “Bad dream.” 

“D-Daddy, Mama,” Oliver sobbed out, reaching his hands out to be picked up. Charlotte sat up quickly and hoisted the boy into her arms, sitting him down on her lap and cuddling him instantly. 

“It’s okay, my dear. It was only a dream. Daddy and I are right here and we’re not going to let anyone hurt you,” Charlotte assured, kissing the curls on the top of her son’s head. 

She and Ted were just out of high school when they found out she was pregnant. They weighed the options, they really did, but they knew they loved each other endlessly and would be together forever. Charlotte had always wanted kids, but not so soon, and Ted had always been hesitant on the topic, but somehow the timing felt right even though it really shouldn’t have. Ted was able to snag a somewhat well-paying job at CCRP Technical, and soon after Oliver’s birth, they got married in a small ceremony. Charlotte stayed home with the boy until he was one, after which she got a job at the same company as Ted. It really all worked out; they loved each other and they had a perfect son. Neither of them could imagine anything different.

“I-It was really s-scary,” Oliver muttered, snuggling into his mother while reaching a hand out for his father. Ted took his hand and squeezed it gently, moving closer to his little family. 

“I’m sure it was, bud,” Ted said comfortingly, “But like your mom said, it wasn’t real, and we’ll do anything to keep you safe.” 

“But-But you and Mama g-got hurt,” Oliver whispered, beginning to calm down slightly but still sniffling, “I-In the dream. Y-You got hurt and-and you were singing, and you left, and-and I was by myself.” 

Charlotte’s heart dropped, and her eyes quickly shot to Ted, finding similar emotions on his face. The singing part confused both of them, but they didn’t want to prod in fear that they would upset him further. She held her child closer to her, assuring him of her presence, “Oh Ollie. We’re right here, okay? And we’re not going anywhere.”

“Mama’s right, Ollie. We’re okay! It was just a dream, even though it was really scary for you,” Ted added, watching as his son nodded against Charlotte’s chest. He reached forward and adjusted the child’s glasses so they sat correctly on his face, smiling fondly as he did so. 

“Would you like to sleep with us for the rest of the night, sweetheart?” Charlotte asked softly, rocking Oliver slightly. The motion reminded her of when he was a tiny newborn and she and Ted had been barely nineteen, comforting him in the rocking chair in his nursery during the common occurrence of him fussing at night. It sent a pang to her heart. He was getting so big! It was times like these, though, that reminded her that no matter how old he got, he would always need his Mama and Daddy. 

Oliver sucked in a shaky breath as he nodded. Charlotte gave him another kiss, and Ted leant down and provided one as well, straightening out his rocket ship pajamas. 

“Here Ollie, let me just get your glasses,” Charlotte said, easing the tiny frames off of his face and placing them on the nightstand beside her. Ted assisted in moving the boy off of her lap and placing him in between them on the bed, pulling the covers over his body. 

“Do you want your blankie or anything, bud?” Ted asked before settling back down into the bed himself. 

“No, I-I’m safe with you and Mama. No need blankie,” Oliver replied, eyes focusing intently as though he was repeating the saying over and over again in his head until he understood it. 

“That’s right, but we can go get your blankie if you want it,” Charlotte said, “Even though you’re safe, it doesn’t mean you can’t have your blankie.” 

“It’s okay, Mama,” Oliver murmured, his eyes closing as he leaned his head against her, “Wanna sleep.” 

Charlotte let out a soft giggle, laying down herself and adjusting the child so that her arms were around him and his little head was pressed against her chest, “Okay sweetheart. We can do that.” 

Ted followed suit, wrapping his long arms around his wife and son and pulling them close to him. He was so grateful for this life that he had seemingly stumbled upon. 

He didn’t have a good childhood or home life. He was little more than a complete asshole to everyone throughout school, but as soon as he saw Charlotte after she transferred into the district during their freshman year, he was absolutely taken by her. He tried his best to be nice to her and invite her into his friend group with Bill and Paul, which she gratefully joined. After all, Bill was a senior and was going to be graduating, and Ted definitely did not want himself and Paul to become a dynamic duo. He liked Paul’s company, but not that much. 

After not even two weeks, though, Charlotte was walking the halls under the arm of Sam, the asshole senior. He couldn’t blame Sam- Charlotte was the most beautiful girl in the school- but he hated how she was treated by the older boy. She was taken advantage of, he could tell, and he knew the bruises that showed up on her arms were not from running into things as she said. 

The summer between freshman and sophomore year, Ted had enough of Charlotte coming to him and crying in his arms because of something Sam did or said. He confronted Sam, and sure, he got his ass beat, but at least he got the point across. Charlotte ended up tending to his wounds and he, high on adrenaline or exhilaration or love or some shit, mistakenly admitted his feelings for her. They were together a week later. 

When Charlotte told him she was pregnant two months after graduating, tears rolling down her cheeks and her entire body trembling, everything in his body was screaming at him to run. He had never felt so panicked in his life. What were they supposed to do? They really didn’t have any money; Charlotte had never had a job and Ted worked at the movie theater where he made five dollars an hour. There was no way they could raise a baby on that budget. And, shit, where would they live? They definitely couldn’t live at Ted’s house, as his stepfather would kick his ass, but they couldn’t exactly afford an apartment either. And what about college? Sure, he wasn’t planning on going for at least another year, if at all, and she was just going to take classes at the community college, but still?

He wanted to run. But he couldn’t, not when Charlotte was looking at him with those big blue eyes. Not when she was sobbing and telling him that she understood if he wanted to leave. Not when she was mumbling about how she had always wanted kids but wasn’t sure if the time was right but wasn’t sure if she could live with herself if she picked a different option. 

He stayed. He couldn’t not. He loved her too much to do that.

Her mom had been as supportive and sweet as possible. She had offered that Ted moved in until they were able to get on their feet themselves, and helped them clean out the spare room for the nursery. 

Throughout the entire pregnancy, Ted remained hesitant about the entire situation. His parents were always shitty to him. He had no example of what a good parent looked like, how was he supposed to be a good father? When they found out the baby was a boy, he was completely freaked out. How was he supposed to be a positive male role model to his son when he didn’t have one growing up? As Charlotte’s stomach grew, his fear grew with it.

He got a better job, and they saved every penny for baby supplies and an apartment. They couldn’t go on dates anymore because they were too expensive, save for the ones that Charlotte’s mom sent them on when she could tell they needed to get out of the house. They had to mature very quickly, but it wasn’t something he ever regretted. 

The birth was the most stressful and beautiful experience of his entire life. He had known Charlotte was strong before, but in that hospital room, he truly couldn’t fathom the strength emanating off of her. She was stoic and powerful throughout the entirety of the process, and he felt himself falling deeper and deeper in love with her if that was even possible. 

When Oliver was lifted up, took his first breath, and promptly started screaming, both he and Charlotte burst into tears. He was perfect, with chubby cheeks and big eyes and lots and lots of dark hair. He immediately took both parent’s breath away. From that moment, nothing else mattered but him. 

He didn’t know what he did to deserve the most perfect wife and son in the world, but he was beyond grateful. 

Ollie quickly settled into the blankets, his eyes fluttering tiredly as he gazed up into the loving eyes of his parents. Charlotte wiped the last of his tears away, causing a sweet little smile to spread across his cheeks. 

“Love you, Mama. Love you, Daddy,” he whispered with a slight laugh. 

“Love you, buddy,” Ted replied, kissing his forehead. 

“I love you, sweetheart. Now go to sleep,” Charlotte said soothingly, “You have school with Alice tomorrow, and you don’t want to be tired for that.” 

“Okay Mama,” Oliver mumbled, his eyes finally closing. Both adults watched him silently until his breathing visibly evened out as he slipped into sleep. 

“Sweet guy,” Charlotte whispered, pressing one last light kiss to the child’s curls. 

“He’s getting too big, Char. I don’t like it,” Ted said softly as he settled down into the bed, readjusting his grip around his son and wife, “Can’t he stay this age forever?” 

“I wish, dear,” Charlotte sighed, “I don’t like that he’s having scary nightmares like this. It breaks my heart to see him so sad.” 

“I know,” Ted agreed, “Hopefully it’s just a stage, and he gets past it. It’s probably because of his big imagination or something. It doesn’t help that he’s a worrier in the first place.” 

“I’m afraid he gets that from me,” Charlotte added almost guiltily. 

“Hey,” Ted said, using a hand to tuck some loose strands of her hair behind her ear, “It’s not always a bad thing, and I love that he’s just like you.” 

Charlotte traced the child’s features with a delicate finger, trying to memorize every single part of him. She knew that in a blink of an eye he’d be five, and then ten, and then fifteen. Her heart clenched just thinking about it. 

“He’s perfect,” she murmured, “If it’s just a stage, he can take as long as he needs to get past it. I don’t want him to get big.” 

“We can always have another one,” Ted said, smirking. He had been trying to talk her into having another baby since Oliver went to preschool, but she was adamant that she wanted to wait a little longer. 

Charlotte rolled her eyes despite the small smile spreading across her face, “Having another baby isn’t going to replace his milestones and isn’t going to make me miss him being little any less.” 

“Soon though?” 

“I’ll think about it,” Charlotte confirmed, settling down into her pillow, “You know, I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to love another child as much as I love him. Every day, I-I feel overwhelmed by the love I have for him. How is there supposed to be more room in my heart? I know it happens naturally and everything, but it just doesn’t seem possible.”

“I know what you mean,” Ted said, gently leaning over Oliver to press a kiss to his wife’s lips, “We kinda hit the jackpot with the first one.” 

“When we were terrified teenagers holding him in the hospital bed, I could have never even imagined this,” Charlotte said, her eyes shining. He knew she wasn’t just referring to their son. She was referring to all of their circumstances; their triumphs and their struggles and their love for each other and everything in between. 

“I know. It’s crazy,” Ted said, getting interrupted by a yawn, “Okay, no more deep conversations for the night. It’s 1 AM and we have work in the morning.” 

Charlotte let out a soft laugh, “Goodnight, Teddy.” 

“Goodnight babe,” he murmured, “Love you.” 

“Love you too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I love them. 
> 
> (Also I'm lowkey waiting for the day Nick Lang tweets that Oliver isn't the hcb's name but until it's disproved, I'm sticking with it.)


End file.
